ArenaNet

Live from E3 at the PC Gaming Show, ArenaNet's Colin Johanson shed some light on the previously announced Guild Halls feature for the upcoming Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns expansion. You'll be able to decorate you...

Guild Wars 2 is gearing up to deliver nine elite specializations in the Heart of Thorns expansion, which will fundamentally change-up your class. The Reaper will switch up Necromancers entirely, allowing them to us...

ArenaNet is still working tirelessly on the Heart of Thorns expansion for Guild Wars 2, and it's ready to reveal another upcoming specialization (one of nine) -- the Dragonhunter. It's a ranged combat specialist that al...

Want in on the beta for the Guild Wars 2 expansion, Heart of Thorns? Well now you can go and try to farm your way in (this is an MMO after all, gotta have that farming), as access to the next PvE closed event will be giv...

Guild Wars 2's Heart of Thorns expansion is shaping up to be a great addition to the game, and soon, you'll be able to experience part of it ahead of schedule. Developer ArenaNet has announced that they will be holding a...

Blizzard did a great job with its streaming game hub, allowing players to jump into titles while they were downloading. Every feature may not be available and it might not look the best, but during particularly slow download ...

Mar 03 //
Chris Carter
So how exactly do you tackle an MMO expansion? For the most part, developers will put a new level cap in place, and immediately make your old gear irrelevant within the first few quests. It's a traditional system that isn't inherently flawed for the right type of gamer, but ArenaNet is trying something different with the Masteries system in Heart of Thorns.
I asked Johanson how they plan to keep people interested for longer periods of time. With a level cap that's a firm goal to reach for, but how is Guild Wars 2 going to entice players to get every Mastery? He responded with, "Well there's a lot of variety here. Combat masteries are needed for certain big bosses, like one foe that has thick bark -- you'll need one special ability to strip the bark, otherwise you'll have to run for your life. There's a lot of combat abilities peppered about, which will drive players alone. For the most part the story is not gated, but other parts will be."
Going on, he noted that "We'll also be adding more Masteries and points. The system is not a one-off in the expansion. This is the message to players that this is the new system going forward as we build and progress the game. We'll continue to add more challenging content and new Masteries for players to play with. Each of these systems we picked is how we plan to build and grow the game in the future."
Johanson was excited to talk about what influenced this system, stating, "We noted that this took a lot of progression from other franchises. In fact, the traversal systems like gliding are like Metroid and Zelda slammed together. Some day you'll be able to come back and do other things, like bounce up on a certain mushroom and go up into certain treetop areas.
So how are they tackling exploration? Will players want to go to places other than the expansion? "We don't want to have empty, barren areas like other MMOs," he responded. "We want people to go back to everywhere in the game. We want strong core areas with lots of fun things to do. Inherently, there will be more people to play with in those areas, which is what MMOs are all about. So we want to make less areas and create more focused experiences."
Johanson was mum about discussing dungeon or raid content, as nothing has been announced yet. But when coaxed, he stated, "Yeah, we're looking at all of that. Especially with raid content. We very clearly heard that people think we have a very fun combat system. Minute-to-minute it's exciting, but there are not enough creatures in the game that force you to use that whole skill bar or take advantage of that combat system. PVP has that, but if you love PVE you don't really get to experience that in the core game. So we're addressing that in Heart of Thorns. But that is all I can say today."
I also asked how they plan on getting players to level 80, since you need to max out to play the new Heart of Thorns content: "We haven't discussed anything specific as to how we're going to help new players. Tying in to a previous point there's a compelling reason to go back to old content. With our sidekicking system you can also go back and play with lower-level players. In other words, there will always be people to play with. I think the jungle as a goal will be a great thing for people to work towards. We do have a lot of account-based systems, so we think it's okay to ask people to go back and level-up new characters."
I also touched on the concept of the Revenant, noting that there's a propensity to claim that new classes are overpowered to entice players to level-up new characters and keep playing -- so I asked how they plan to balance it head-on. "I love that question! Even before we showed it people on our fan forums said it was overpowered which is amazingly funny. I think it's balanced because it has a balanced armor rating and balanced range. It has a lot of movement in combat, but outside of combat it has a tough time getting between battles. One of the things you can do to counter the Revenant is outrange it. It doesn't have a lot of blocks or counters. It can also be interrupted. It also has to control its energy bar constantly, which limits its skills despite the fact that it has more skills than most professions."
I tried to get in a secret announcement for a new race, but had no such luck: "We looked at races but they don't really have a huge point in Guild Wars 2 from a gameplay standpoint. The content needs are much tougher, like more starting zones and voice-work. That doesn't give us a lot of content for the time we put in. There's some ones our fans would love to see, but I don't think that adds much gameplay-wise."
Switching gears to PVP, I asked about the MOBA influences that the new Stronghold mode wore on its sleeve. Johanson was enthusiastically stated "Yeah! MOBAs and Dota-lites definitely were influences. Fort Aspenwood in Guild Wars provided some inspiration. We tried to take all of those things and put our own unique twist on it."
When asked if there will be any disparity between World vs. World and Stronghold modes in terms of rewards, Johanson replied, "No, we're aiming to really strike the balance between the two. It will really depend on your personal skill level. For instance if you find a great guild for World vs. World, you'll likely reap more benefits than Stronghold. World vs. World has its own progression system, so there's that to keep into account."
I continued to press PVP, asking if ArenaNet was interested in more "micro" type PVP modes similar to League of Legends' Dominion, and Johanson was pretty excited at the strong reception to PVP so far. "Definitely. We're looking at more modes like Stronghold, where people have roles to play, where everyone can help their team win, but you can constantly change roles. It has to be approachable. People in the office who didn't even play PVP were into Stronghold, so that's something we're looking at."
All things said, I'm happy with the direction Guild Wars 2 is taking. Expect more coverage as Heart of Thorns as the year goes on.
[Both lunch and dinner were provided at the event in ArenaNet's offices in Bellevue, Washington.]

An interview with lead designer Colin JohansonGuild Wars 2 is one of the most accessible MMOs ever made. Eschewing the Holy Trinity of class builds, you can basically pick any character you want and still fulfill a role in any group. Everyone can heal, and everyone ...

Mar 03 //
Chris CarterGuild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns (PC)Developer: ArenaNetPublisher: NCsoftReleased: TBA 2015MSRP: TBA
At ArenaNet's offices last week, I had the chance to get some hands-on time with the expansion, and I'm pleased with what I've seen so far. There's an all-new zone, a new "Masteries" leveling system, the Revenant class, and another PVP mode titled "Stronghold."
The heart and soul of the expansion is the Maguuma Jungle, an area that picks up mere "days" after the story in the original game. For those who aren't caught up, all of the combined armies in the land took off via airships to chase down the Elder Dragon Mordremoth, and the expedition ended in flames -- literally. The jungle came to life and tore the fleet apart, leaving most for dead. You'll start the Heart of Thorns content right after that, provided you have a level 80 character. Yep, you'll need to be max level to stand a chance in the new zone.
Masteries are the new way ArenaNet is tackling progression, because there will not be a level cap increase. Instead, players will earn Mastery Points, which they can put into skills like additional creature languages, or more mobile skills like gliding or mushroom riding. For instance, I earned my first point at the start of the demo, and gained the power to use mushrooms as bounce pads to leap to new areas. Later on the tree may evolve to allow me to eat said mushrooms to gain a boost in speed, and so on.
ArenaNet co-founder and president Mike O'Brien states that this is the ideal way to tackle an expansion, because typically in MMOs you'll leave way too much behind. He elaborates on the concept, stating, "With a new level cap, you'll instantly find new gear and items to replace. Saying goodbye to the old and in with the new can be great, but players are often attached to their old conquests. We didn't want to invalidate that, so I'm really excited about Masteries. It pertains to jungle-specific progression, but you can still go back to the old world and have fun."
Masteries can be equipped to level them up individually, so if you're keen on becoming a better glider while roaming about the world, you can do that. Right now I'm excited for the concept, but I didn't see enough Masteries to convince me they will stay interesting for the long haul. When confronted about this, O'Brien noted that more Masteries will be added over time, which is great news.
You'll need those new powers to get around in the jungle, because based on the demo, the difficulty has been ramped up. According to O'Brien, the jungle is "really vertical, and not like any other area in the game. With the vertical setup we really have a way to build it unlike any zone before, allowing players to get into the depths of the game world into more frightening areas."
Lead designer Colin Johanson commented on the enhanced difficulty, stating, "playing with others is supposed to be fun. We're doubling down on that challenge in Heart of Thorns." I was able to see that in action with a wyvern mini-boss fight at the end of the demo, which required a decent amount of strategy and dodging typically not seen in other world events.
I was able to tackle that challenge head-on with the new Revenant class, which is basically an undead warrior of sorts. Classic Guild Wars fans will be excited to know that according to O'Brien, the developer is excited to "bring back old lore and mechanics that we weren't previously able to add to Guild Wars 2." He goes on to say that "it's different than the other eight professions in more ways than one" -- a statement that I can definitely agree with.
The Revenant has two different "states" -- one based on DPS (Demon), and the other, more tanky (Dwarf). You can instantly switch between them with a mouse click (or F1), which you'll need to do to maintain its energy levels to power its skills. The kicker? Both states do not share cooldowns, and it has two heals between them. It was a rush to switch to the tank and lay down a buff shaped like a spiritual pathway, then switch back to lay down some damage.
Aesthetically, the profession looks unlike anything else in the game, with a very cool demonic feel complete with mist effects and a badass headband that extends over your eyes. It's easily my favorite class so far, and I will be leveling one as soon as Heart of Thorns hits. To alleviate any concerns, I do feel like the class is balanced -- and this is before users even give their feedback. Right now Revenants are scheduled to use the hammer, mace, and axe weapon types -- but Rytlock (an NPC) is wielding a sword, so we'll see.
PVP is also getting a lot more enticing in my mind with Stronghold. To be blunt, over time I lost interest in the massive World vs. World scheme in the original Guild Wars 2. It just became too much to keep track of, and often times I'd be running around without a skirmish in sight for up to 10 minutes. It wasn't action-packed enough, and Stronghold will fix that issue.
In short, it's a MOBA-like experience that aims to be 10-15 minutes in length. There are two teams that each have a lane with troops to go down, and a base at the end with a "Lord" to protect, who is behind two doors. If one team's Lord dies, it's game over. To facilitate your attack, you can embed yourself in random map events like the acquisition of a hero character (which buffs you while you're in proximity to them), or grabbing "supply" materials to create archer or doorbreaker units.
Archers will help clear out the path to each door, and doorbreakers actually bust them down. Of course, players can attack either of them, and you'll definitely want to do so for the latter to prevent your Lord from becoming vulnerable. Because of the way it's set up, there's action at every turn. Whether it's battling over supply or doing some actual laning work, the map is small enough where you'll always find someone to fight. I'm sold.
ArenaNet isn't done revealing what Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns will entail, but that's the gist of what you can expect. If you're interested in getting some hands-on time, the expansion will be available to play at PAX East. ArenaNet is also planning a number of different beta events just like the core game, so you'll have plenty of chances to try before you buy.
[Both lunch and dinner were provided at the event in ArenaNet's offices in Bellevue, Washington.]

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Not bad, not bad.
[Via NeoGAF]

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For a chance to ...

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"As we&rsq...

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...